Jo Bennett appointed as CFO at McCarthy Stone

Developer and manager of retirement communities – McCarthy Stone – has recruited Jo Bennett as its chief financial officer.

Bennett was most recently chief business officer at Pizza Express where she was responsible for finance, legal, IT, property, value creation plan, business transformation and the supply chain. Before this, she was group CFO of Hilding Anders Group, a global bed and mattress manufacturer and retailer.

Bennett has spent time working as a director at KKR Capstone and at TPG Capital. She trained as an accountant at EY and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

McCarthy Stone aims to build and sell around 2,000 apartments and bungalows a year, and operates 530 retirement communities, including 120 housing with care schemes.

‘Jo will help to further strengthen our robust balance sheet and manage our investment in our land and construction pipeline to meet the unprecedented demand for better housing and care in later life, as well as helping us to operate our existing retirement communities around the UK,’ said John Tonkiss, McCarthy Stone’s CEO.

Bennett will sit on the group’s main board and executive committee.